Sunarp copia literal and registry certificates: which one to order, what they cost and how to get them online

Why this matters

Article 2012 of Peru’s Civil Code says: “Se presume, sin admitirse prueba en contrario, que toda persona tiene conocimiento del contenido de las inscripciones” — everyone is presumed, with no evidence allowed to the contrary, to know what is registered. In other words, the law assumes you know what is recorded at Sunarp (the public registry agency), whether you checked or not.

Article 2014 (as reworded by Ley 30313 in 2015) adds the other side: someone who in good faith and for value acquires a right from the person who the registry shows as entitled to grant it keeps that acquisition once registered, even if the grantor’s right is later annulled, rescinded, cancelled or terminated for reasons that did not appear in the registry entries or in the archived filings behind them.

Both rules lead to the same place: before buying, lending against collateral or contracting with a company, check what the registry says. That is what registry publicity services are for.

What each document shows

Fees do not match across sources. For real-estate literal copies, a Sunarp page last updated in April 2020 says S/ 14.00 for the first two pages and S/ 6.00 for each additional one; the October 2023 note says S/ 16.00 and S/ 8.00. We could not read the 2026 annex for real-estate publicity, because the file posted contains a different table. For non-real-estate registries, the 2023 note says S/ 6.00 per sheet and the 2026 schedule sets 0.12% of the UIT per page side. Confirm the amount in the SPRL, which calculates it before you pay.

How to order online

Everything goes through the Servicio de Publicidad Registral en Línea (SPRL), which you enter with a username and password from Sunarp’s website or the Sunarp app.

• Copia literal. Choose “Solicitar certificado literal de partida”, enter the registry office and file number, and tick all pages or only the entries you need. Pay with the SPRL wallet or a card. The gob.pe page says the link reaches your email within three business days at most; the 2023 note says that for real-estate, natural-person and legal-entity files it is issued immediately.
• CRI. Ordered through the SPRL by paying the fee. The gob.pe page recommends getting one before buying a property or plot of land.
• Company vigencia de poder. In the SPRL: “Solicitud de certificado”, legal entities registry, “Certificado de Vigencia de Poder PJ”. You need the file number and the registry office. It arrives within three calendar days at most. At the counter it is usually ready in about three hours if you ask before noon, except in cases the page lists (a file of more than ten pages, a pending filing, among others).
• Cadastral search. Since 2020 it is ordered through the SPRL by attaching a location plan, a perimeter plan and a technical description, signed off by an architect or civil engineer. Sunarp describes it as essential for regularizing a property’s physical and legal status: see Physical-legal title regularization.

SPRL certificates come with an electronic signature and a verification code, which lets you check their authenticity on Sunarp’s website.

Do they expire?

We found no norm or official page that sets a validity period for the copia literal, the CRI or the vigencia de poder. The CRI reports encumbrances “in force as of the date” it is issued. If someone asks for a “recent” certificate, ask what maximum age they accept: that rule belongs to whoever asks, not one we found in the norms we reviewed.

Alerta Registral: the free anti-fraud service

Sunarp offers two kinds of notice, by SMS or email:

• Filing alert (alerta de inscripción): tells you when a filing is presented to register something on a file you enrolled. It works for real estate, legal entities, vehicles, and mandates and powers of attorney.
• Publicity alert (alerta de publicidad): tells you when someone orders publicity (a copia literal, for example) on an enrolled real-estate file.

You enrol at alertaregistral.sunarp.gob.pe with your details, email, mobile number and the file number. It is free, lasts as long as you want and you can cancel it at any time.

If you receive an alert about a filing you don’t recognize, Sunarp says:

1. Review the filing on Síguelo Plus with the number included in the alert.
2. If you suspect forgery or identity theft, report it to Sunarp immediately (Aló Sunarp: 0800-27164).
3. If the alert names the notary’s office where it started, go to that office and warn the notary. If the irregularity is confirmed, the notary must ask for the filing to be struck out (tacha) at once.
4. You can ask the registry office for a reading of the pending filing (lectura de título en trámite) to see the document that was presented.

The alert does not give you a right to object to the filing. It gives you time to act.

If you are buying

A copia literal or a CRI tells you who is recorded as owner and what encumbrances exist. It does not tell you whether the purchase contract is a good one: that is covered in Buying a home in Peru and how arras work. For vehicles, the change-of-owner procedure is in Transferring a vehicle in Peru.